Annotating received world wide web/internet document pages without changing the hypertext markup language content of the pages

ABSTRACT

A Web page function that enables the interactive user to simply annotate a received Web document/page with text and graphics entries that may be stored separately from the stored Web page so that the annotations track the stored Web page, and may be subsequently accessed and displayed whenever the Web page is accessed and displayed. As a result, it is not necessary for the user to do any editing in the HTML format of the Web page that remains unchanged. Apparatus at a receiving display station for displaying the received hypertext document, and an implementation for superimposing a transparent displayed layer over the displayed received hypertext document, and user interactive apparatus enabling the entry of displayed data into said superimposed layer relative to said underlying displayed hypertext document. The received document is customarily a hypertext markup language document, and the displayed data entered into said superimposed layer is not defined in hypertext markup language. Therefore, apparatus provided at the receiving display station for storing the received hypertext markup language document, and apparatus is also provided at the receiving display station for storing said displayed entered data separate and independent of said received document.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to computer managed communicationnetworks such as the World Wide Web (Web) and, particularly, to systems,processes and programs for making the interactive user displayinterface, i.e. GUI, to Web pages received from the Web more userfriendly and easier to use.

BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART

[0002] The past decade has been marked by a technological revolutiondriven by the convergence of the data processing industry with theconsumer electronics industry. The effect has, in turn, driventechnologies that have been known and available but relatively quiescentover the years. A major one of these technologies is the Internet or Webrelated distribution of documents, media and programs. The convergenceof the electronic entertainment and consumer industries with dataprocessing exponentially accelerated the demand for wide rangingcommunication distribution channels, and the Web or Internet, which hadquietly existed for over a generation as a loose academic and governmentdata distribution facility, reached “critical mass” and commenced aperiod of phenomenal expansion. With this expansion, businesses andconsumers have direct access to all matter of documents, media andcomputer programs.

[0003] In addition, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which had been thedocumentation language of the Internet or Web for years, offered directhyperlinks between Web pages embedded in such Web pages. This evenfurther exploded the use of the Internet or Web.

[0004] As a result of these changes, it seems as if virtually allaspects of human endeavor in the industrialized world requirehuman-computer interfaces. These changes have made computer directedactivities accessible to a substantial portion of the industrial world'spopulation which, up to a few years ago, was computer-illiterate, or, atbest, computer indifferent.

[0005] Consequently, developers of Web documents/pages are continuallyworking to make the handling of Web pages as simple and user-friendly aspossible. Such simplification, of course, involves the interactive userinterfaces to Web pages. At the present time, it is fairly easy andstraight-forward for a user to print a Web page under the control of anystandard Web browser program. Likewise, current Web browser programsenable the user to request to have the Web page downloaded and saved inits HTML format so that users may subsequently request that the browserfetch and display the Web page in its hypertext format whereby the usermay still use the page hyperlinks to access linked documents.

[0006] However, there has been a lack of programming technologypermitting the interactive user to simply make notes, sketches,highlight or otherwise annotate received Web pages for subsequent accessand use by the user. While there are programs for the editing of HTMLdocuments available in the art, these are relatively complex for mostWeb/Internet users/consumers because such programs require theacquisition of HTML operator skills.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0007] The present invention is directed to a unique Web page functionthat enables the interactive user to simply annotate a received Webdocument/page with text and graphics entries that may be storedseparately from the stored Web page so that the annotations track thestored Web page and, subsequently, may be accessed and displayedwhenever the Web page is accessed and displayed. As a result, it is notnecessary for the user to do any editing in the HTML format of the Webpage that remains unchanged.

[0008] Accordingly, the present invention provides for the annotation ofa displayed received Web document without changing the received documentcontent comprising the combination of means at a receiving displaystation for displaying the received hypertext document, means forsuperimposing a transparent displayed layer over said displayed receivedhypertext document, and user interactive means enabling the entry ofdisplayed data into said superimposed layer relative to said underlyingdisplayed hypertext document. The received document is customarily ahypertext markup language document, and the displayed data entered intosaid superimposed layer is not defined in hypertext markup language.Therefore, means are provided at the receiving display station forstoring the received hypertext markup language document, and means arealso provided at the receiving display station for storing saiddisplayed entered data separate and independent of said receiveddocument.

[0009] The system is more specifically implemented by Web browsing meansat the receiving display station including the above means forsuperimposing a transparent displayed layer over the displayed receivedhypertext document and the user interactive means enabling the entry ofdisplayed data into the superimposed layer relative to the underlyingdisplayed hypertext document.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The present invention will be better understood and its numerousobjects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in theart by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction with theaccompanying specification, in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a generalized data processing systemincluding a central processing unit that provides the computercontrolled interactive display system that may be used in practicing thepresent invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a generalized diagrammatic view of a Web portion uponwhich the present invention may be implemented;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a typical Web page displayed at areceiving display station;

[0014]FIG. 4 is the diagrammatic Web page view of FIG. 3, after a userhas annotated the Web page with text and graphics in accordance with thepresent invention;

[0015]FIG. 5 is an illustration showing how the Web page view of FIG. 4may be separated into its two discrete layers;

[0016]FIG. 6 is an illustrative flowchart describing the setting up ofthe process of the present invention for providing of a separateannotation layer for the underlying HTML Web page; and

[0017]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an illustrative run of the process setupin FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, a typical data processing terminal is shownthat may function as the Web display stations used for receiving Webpages, for requesting Web searches and for Web browsing. A centralprocessing unit (CPU) 10, such as one of the PC microprocessors orworkstations, e.g. RISC System/6000™ series available from InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation (IBM) or Dell PC microprocessors, isprovided and interconnected to various other components by system bus12. An operating system 41 runs on CPU 10, provides control and is usedto coordinate the function of the various components of FIG. 1.Operating system 41 may be one of the commercially available operatingsystems such as the AIX 6000™ operating system available from IBM; orMicrosoft's WindowsXP™ or Windows2000™, or WindowsNT™, as well as otherUNIX and AIX operating-systems. Application programs 40, controlled bythe system, are moved into and out of the main memory Random AccessMemory (RAM) 14. These programs include the programs of the presentinvention for annotating received Web documents without changing the Webdocument content. The programs will be subsequently described incombination with any conventional Web browser, such as the NetscapeNavigator 3.0 or Microsoft's Internet Explorer™. A Read Only Memory(ROM) 16 is connected to CPU 10 via bus 12 and includes the BasicInput/Output System (BIOS) that controls the basic computer functions.RAM 14, I/O adapter 18 and communications adapter 34 are alsointerconnected to system bus 12. I/O adapter 18 may be a Small ComputerSystem Interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with the disk storagedevice 20. Communications adapter 34 interconnects bus 12 with anoutside network enabling the data processing system to communicate withother-such-systems over the Web or Internet The latter two terms aremeant to be generally interchangeable and are so used in the presentdescription of the distribution network. I/O devices are also connectedto system bus 12 via user interface adapter 22 and display adapter 36.Keyboard 24 and mouse 26 are all interconnected to bus 12 through userinterface adapter 22. It is through such input devices that the user mayinteractively relate to Web pages. Display adapter 36 includes a framebuffer 39, which is a storage device that holds a representation of eachpixel on the display screen 38. Images may be stored in frame buffer 39for display on monitor 38 through various components, such as a digitalto analog converter (not shown) and the like. By using theaforementioned I/O devices, a user is capable of inputting informationto the system through the keyboard 24 or mouse 26 and receiving outputinformation from the system via display 38.

[0019] Before going further into the details of specific embodiments, itwill be helpful to understand from a more general perspective thevarious elements and methods that may be related to the presentinvention. Since a major aspect of the present invention is directed todocuments, such as Web pages transmitted over networks, an understandingof networks and their operating principles would be helpful. We will notgo into great detail in describing the networks to which the presentinvention is applicable. Reference has also been made to theapplicability of the present invention to a global network such as theInternet or Web. For details on Internet nodes, objects and links,reference is made to the text, Mastering the Internet, G. H. Cady etal., published by Sybex Inc., Alameda, Calif., 1996.

[0020] The Internet or Web is a global network of a heterogeneous mix ofcomputer technologies and operating systems. Higher level objects arelinked to the lower level objects in the hierarchy through a variety ofnetwork server computers. These network servers are the key to networkdistribution, such as the distribution of Web pages and relateddocumentation. In this connection, the term “documents” is used todescribe data transmitted over the Web or other networks and is intendedto include Web pages with displayable text, graphics and other images.

[0021] Web documents are conventionally implemented in HTML language,which is described in detail in the text entitled Just Java, van derLinden, 1997, SunSoft Press, particularly at Chapter 7, pp. 249-268,dealing with the handling of Web pages; and also in the above-referencedMastering the Internet, particularly at pp. 637-642, on HTML in theformation of Web pages. The images on the Web pages are implemented in avariety of image or graphic files such MPEG, JPEG or GIF files, whichare described in the text, Internet: The Complete Reference, MillenniumEdition, Young et al., 1999, Osborne/McGraw-Hill, particularly at pp.728-730.

[0022] In addition, aspects of this invention will involve Web browsers.A general and comprehensive description of browsers may be found in theabove-mentioned Mastering the Internet text at pp. 291-313. Moredetailed browser descriptions may be found in the above-mentionedInternet: The Complete Reference, Millennium Edition text: Chapter 19,pp. 419-454, on the Netscape Navigator; Chapter 20, pp. 455-494, on theMicrosoft Internet Explorer; and Chapter 21, pp. 495-512, covering Lynx,Opera and other browsers. The invention may involve the use of searchengines for searching. As described in the above-mentioned Internet: TheComplete Reference, Millennium Edition text, pages 395 and 522-535,search engines use key words and phrases to query the Web for desiredsubject matter.

[0023] A generalized diagram of a portion of the Web, which the computercontrolled display terminal 57 used for Web page receiving duringsearching or browsing, is connected as shown in FIG. 2. Computer displayterminal 57 may be implemented by the computer system setup in FIG. 1and connection 58 (FIG. 2) is the network connection shown in FIG. 1.For purposes of the present embodiment, computer 57 serves as a Webdisplay station and has received displayed Web page 56, which is one ofa sequence of Web pages containing text, graphics and embeddedhyperlinks to other Web pages. Reference may be made to theabove-mentioned Mastering the Internet, pp. 136-147, for typicalconnections between local display stations to the Web via networkservers, any of which may be used to implement the system on which thisinvention is used. The system embodiment of FIG. 2 has a host-dialconnection. Such host-dial connections have been in use for over 30years through network access servers 53 which are linked 61 to the Web50. The Web servers 53, which also may have the computer structuredescribed with respect to FIG. 1, may be maintained by an ISP (InternetService Provider) to the client's display terminal 57. The Web server 53is accessed by the client terminal 57 through a normal dial-up telephonelinkage 58 via modem 54, telephone line 55 and modem 52. The HTML filerepresentative of the Web page 56 has been downloaded to displayterminal 57 through Web access server 53 via the telephone line linkagesfrom server 53, which may have accessed them from the Internet 50 vialinkage 61. The Web browser program 59 operates within the displayterminals 57 to control the communication with the Web access server 53to thereby download and display the accessed Web pages 56 on terminal57. The Web access server 53 uses one of the previously mentioned searchengines 51 to access via the Web 50 the desired sequence of Web pagesfrom appropriate Web resources, such as databases 60 and 62. Web server53 will carry out the functions of obtaining the Web documents or pagesas requested by the user via Web browser 59 and downloaded into storagein Web cache 49.

[0024] With this setup, the present invention, which will be describedin greater detail with respect to FIGS. 3 through 5, may be carried outusing Web browser 59 and associated Web server 53 (FIG. 2). Searchengine 51 accesses the sequence of Web pages and provides such pages tothe user at terminal 57 via Web browser 59 via server 53.

[0025] Now, with respect to FIGS. 3 through 5, we will give anillustrative example of how the present invention may be used to providean implementation for annotating a received Web page without changingthe HTML content of the page. Web page 63, FIG. 3, is an illustration ofthe displayed Web page 56 in FIG. 2. This standard page contains text,graphics and images, as well as hyperlinks 64 to other Web documents.Using the basic text/graphics editing function of the operating system,e.g. Windows 2000, or any conventional word processing program operableon the Windows OS, e.g. Word, WordPro or Word Perfect, the user mayannotate the Web page content 63 with text/graphics entries 65 as shownin FIG. 4. These entries will not in any way change or edit thedisplayed or stored content of Web page 63. The annotations will ineffect be made in a “transparent” layer over the Web page 63 by thetext/graphics processor used in the same manner as if there were no Webpage present and the display was blank. The only relationship that thetext/graphics annotations 65 have to the underlying Web page 63 is thespatial one shown in FIG. 4. This is illustrated in FIG. 5. The initialcomposite overlay of FIG. 4 is shown separated into the basic Web pageof FIG. 3 and transparent overlay 66 containing annotations 65. BasicWeb page 63 is stored 67 as an unchanged HTML page, while transparentoverlay 66 with annotations is stored separately 68 as a naturallanguage word processing document. The Web page and overlay mayinitially being stored in cache 49 (FIG. 2) under control of the Webbrowser or subsequently in disk storage 20 (FIG. 1).

[0026]FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the development of a processaccording to the present invention for annotating received Web pageswithout affecting the HTML content of the Web page. Most of theprogramming functions in the process of FIG. 6 have already beendescribed in general with respect to FIGS. 3 through 5. A Web browser isprovided at a receiving display station on the Web for accessing Webpages in the conventional manner and loading them at the displaystation, step 71. The Web pages are conventionally obtained via a Webserver provided by an ISP. The Web browser has the capability ofrequesting searches from one or more search engines available throughthe Web. A conventional storage apparatus is provided for storing areceived Web page in its HTML format, step 72. Provision is made for theuser selecting to display a Web page as controlled by the Web browser,step 73. A transparent overlay on the display is provided for aspreviously described, step 74. A user is enabled to enter or write datainto the overlay layer to thereby annotate the underlying Web page withtext/graphics, step 75. This may be done with standard text/graphicsediting programs as described hereinabove with respect to FIG. 4.Storage is provided for the data entered into the overlay in a naturallanguage format as distinguished from an HTML format in which the Webpage is stored. This storage is separate and independent of theabove-mentioned storage for the Web page, step 76. As requested by theinteractive user, provision is made for the subsequent display of thestored overlay entered data over the displayed Web page, step 77.

[0027] The running of the process set up in FIG. 6 and described inconnection with FIGS. 3 through 5 will now be described with respect tothe flowchart of FIG. 7. Let us assume that we are in a Web browsingsession through the browser. The flowchart represents some steps in aroutine that will illustrate the operation of the invention. Thebrowser, via a Web access server, accesses the pages found by a searchengine; the next Web page is accessed, step 80. This accessed Web pageis stored in its HTML format, step 81. A determination is then made asto whether the user has requested the page, step 82. If No, such arequest is awaited. If Yes, the page is displayed, step 84. During thedisplay of this Web page, a determination is made as to whether the userhas annotated the Web page as described above, step 86. If Yes, theannotation entries into the transparent layer are saved, step 83 and thetransparent layer is stored in natural language non-HTML format separatefrom the stored Web page, step 85. Next, or if the decision from step 86is No, a determination is made as to whether the user has completed hisviewing of the Web page, step 87. If No, the user in permitted tocontinue viewing the page. If Yes, a further determination is made as towhether the user has selected another Web page for viewing, step 88. IfNo, the session is exited. If Yes, a further determination is made as towhether the selected Web page has already been annotated, step 89. IfYes, the annotation layer associated with the Web page is obtained to bedisplayed, step 90. Then, or if there was no annotation as yet, theprocess is branched back to step 84 where the Web page with or without aassociated annotation overlay is displayed and the process is continuedas described hereinabove.

[0028] One of the preferred implementations of the present invention isin application program 40, i.e. a browser program made up of programmingsteps or instructions resident in RAM 14, FIG. 1, of a Web receivingstation and/or Web server during various Web operations. Until requiredby the computer system, the program instructions may be stored inanother readable medium, e.g. in disk drive 20, or in a removablememory, such as an optical disk for use in a CD ROM computer input or ina floppy disk for use in a floppy disk drive computer input. Further,the program instructions may be stored in the memory of another computerprior to use in the system of the present invention and transmitted overa Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Webitself, when required by the user of the present invention. One skilledin the art should appreciate that the processes controlling the presentinvention are capable of being distributed in the form of computerreadable media of a variety of forms.

[0029] Although certain preferred embodiments have been shown anddescribed, it will be understood that many changes and modifications maybe made therein without departing from the scope and intent of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a World Wide Web (Web) communication networkwith user access via a plurality of data processor controlledinteractive receiving display stations for displaying received hypertextdocuments of at least one display page containing text, images and aplurality of embedded hyperlinks to other hypertext documents accessiblefrom sources on the Web, a system for annotating a displayed receiveddocument without changing said received document content comprising:means at a receiving display station for displaying the receivedhypertext document; means for superimposing a transparent displayedlayer over said displayed received hypertext document; and userinteractive means enabling the entry of displayed data into saidsuperimposed layer relative to said underlying displayed hypertextdocument.
 2. The network system of claim 1 wherein: said receiveddocument is a hypertext markup language document; and said displayeddata entered into said superimposed layer is not defined in hypertextmarkup language.
 3. The network system of claim 2 further including:means at said receiving display station for storing said receivedhypertext markup language document; and means at said receiving displaystation for storing said displayed entered data separate and independentof said received document.
 4. The network system of claim 1 furthercomprising; Web browsing means at said receiving display stationincluding: said means for superimposing a transparent displayed layerover said displayed received hypertext document; and said userinteractive means enabling the entry of displayed data into saidsuperimposed layer relative to said underlying displayed hypertextdocument.
 5. The network system of claim 4 further including: meansassociated with said browsing means at said receiving display stationfor storing said received hypertext markup language document; and meansassociated with said browsing means at said receiving display stationfor storing said displayed entered data separate and independent of saidreceived document.
 6. The network system of claim 5 further including acache associated with said browser including said means storing saidreceived hypertext document and said means for storing said displayedentered data.
 7. The network system of claim 6 wherein said displayedentered data includes text.
 8. The network system of claim 6 whereinsaid displayed entered data includes highlighting.
 9. In a Webcommunication network with user access via a plurality of data processorcontrolled interactive receiving display stations for displayingreceived hypertext documents of at least one display page containingtext, images and a plurality of embedded hyperlinks to other hypertextdocuments accessible from sources on the Web, a method for annotating adisplayed received document without changing said received documentcontent comprising; displaying the received hypertext document at areceiving display station; superimposing a transparent displayed layerover said displayed received hypertext document; and enabling the userinteractive entry of displayed data into said superimposed layerrelative to said underlying displayed hypertext document.
 10. The methodof claim 9 further: said received document is a hypertext markuplanguage document; and said displayed data entered into saidsuperimposed layer is not defined in hypertext markup language.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 further including the steps of: storing said receivedhypertext markup language document at said receiving display station;and storing said displayed entered data at said receiving displaystation separate and independent of said received document.
 12. Themethod of claim 9 further comprising: a Web browsing process at saidreceiving display station including: said step of superimposing atransparent displayed layer over said displayed received hypertextdocument; and said step of enabling the user interactive entry ofdisplayed data into said superimposed layer relative to said underlyingdisplayed hypertext document.
 13. The method of claim 12 furtherincluding the steps of: storing said received hypertext markup languagedocument in association with said browsing process at said receivingdisplay station for; and storing said displayed entered data separateand independent of said received document in association with saidbrowsing process at said receiving display station.
 14. The method ofclaim 13 further including the step of storing said received hypertextdocument and said displayed entered data in a cache.
 15. The method ofclaim 14 wherein said displayed entered data includes text.
 16. Themethod of claim 14 wherein said displayed entered data includeshighlighting.
 17. A computer program having code recorded on a computerreadable medium for annotating a displayed document received at a Webdisplay station without changing said document comprising: means fordisplaying the received hypertext document at said receiving displaystation; means for superimposing a transparent displayed layer over saiddisplayed received hypertext document; and user interactive meansenabling the entry of displayed data into said superimposed layerrelative to said underlying displayed hypertext document.
 18. Thecomputer program of claim 17 wherein: said received document is ahypertext markup language document; and said displayed data entered intosaid superimposed layer is not defined in hypertext markup language. 19.The computer program of claim 18 further including: means for storingsaid received hypertext markup language document at said receivingdisplay station; and means for storing at said receiving display stationsaid displayed entered data separate and independent of said receiveddocument.
 20. The computer program of claim 17 further comprising; a Webbrowser program at said receiving display station including: means forsuperimposing a transparent displayed layer over said displayed receivedhypertext document; and user interactive means enabling the entry ofdisplayed data into said superimposed layer relative to said underlyingdisplayed hypertext document.
 21. The computer program of claim 20further including: means associated with said browsing means at saidreceiving display station for storing said received hypertext markuplanguage document; and means associated with said browsing means at saidreceiving display station for storing said displayed entered dataseparate and independent of said received document.
 22. The computerprogram of claim 21 further including a cache associated with saidbrowser including said means for storing said received hypertextdocument and said means for storing said displayed entered data.
 23. Thecomputer program of claim 22 wherein said displayed entered dataincludes text.
 24. The computer program of claim 22 wherein saiddisplayed entered data includes highlighting.
 25. In a Web communicationnetwork with user access via a plurality of data processor controlledinteractive receiving display stations for displaying received hypertextdocuments of at least one display page containing text, images and aplurality of embedded hyperlinks to other hypertext documents accessiblefrom sources on the Web, a system for annotating a displayed receiveddocument without changing said received document content comprising: areceiving display station for displaying the received hypertextdocument; an implementation for superimposing a transparent displayedlayer over said displayed received hypertext document; and userinteractive apparatus enabling the entry of displayed data into saidsuperimposed layer relative to said underlying displayed hypertextdocument.
 26. The network system of claim 25 wherein: said receiveddocument is a hypertext markup language document; and said displayeddata entered into said superimposed layer is not defined in hypertextmarkup language.
 27. The network system of claim 26 further including:storage apparatus at said receiving display station for storing saidreceived hypertext markup language document; and storage apparatus atsaid receiving display station for storing said displayed entered dataseparate and independent of said received document.
 28. The networksystem of claim 25 further comprising; a Web browser at said receivingdisplay station including: said implementation for superimposing atransparent displayed layer over said displayed received hypertextdocument; and said user interactive apparatus enabling the entry ofdisplayed data into said superimposed layer relative to said underlyingdisplayed hypertext document.
 29. The network system of claim 28 furtherincluding: storage apparatus at said receiving display station forstoring said received hypertext markup language document; and storageapparatus at said receiving display station for storing said displayedentered data separate and independent of said received document.
 30. Thenetwork system of claim 29 further including a cache associated withsaid browser including said storage apparatus for said receivedhypertext document and said storage apparatus for said displayed entereddata.